The concept of pipe pullers for pulling underground pipe through the soil with a plow are well known in the art. Typically, a powered vehicle such as a tractor pulls a subsoil plow through the soil. Attached to the back of the plow and following in the path of the opening formed by the plow is a pipe puller that holds the end of the pipe. As the plow moves through the soil it pulls the pipe puller and the pipe into the opening formed by the plow.
One of the problems with pulling plastic pipe as opposed to pulling metal pipes is that the plastic pipe generally has an inherent resiliency that may cause the pipe puller to slip off the plastic pipe. Also the interior and exterior of plastic pipes tend to be smoother and more difficult to grasp than certain metal pipes. Another difficulty with plastic pipes is that they are usually relatively soft and may contain plasticizers that make the surface of the pipe difficult to firmly grasp. In addition some of the pipe pullers are difficult to "set" or quickly attach the pipe puller to the plastic pipe. The present invention eliminates the problem of slippage and also permits the user to quickly engage or disengage the pipe puller from the plastic pipe.